Breed for Resistance...

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HigginsRat, thank you so much for this post! Having exhausted the route to find Marek's vaccine, we have been discussing this very thing - breeding for resistance. IT may be the best route after all, especially if there is a different strain out there now. My biggest concern is our silkies as it has really played havoc on them. Out of 12 silkies that we hatched last summer (2010)only three survived to maturity - 2 hens and one roo. Then we lost the roo during the winter but had hatched some chicks prior to that. In the winter, I think around February, a friend of mine was able to get a shipment of Marek's vaccine from the States (they've since changed their policy and no longer ship across border). We vaccinated our baby silkies this spring and still lost one to paralysis.

I'm thinking maybe I will get the vet to mix one batch of vaccine and do the four hour trip for it when we hatch out our silkies and work for resistance in the other breeds. So hard to watch them die and open them up just to find those horrid tumors. How the poor birds must suffer! But if I cull as soon as I see symptoms, I may be able to beat this thing using the "breed for resistance" route. Looks like it may be the only route open for us at this point, and in the long run, it may well be the best! I do know when we had our initial outbreak it wiped out or was harder on some breeds and didn't seem to touch other breeds at all. Our silkies, silver laced wyandottes and chanteclers were hardest hit. We no longer keep the chanties and wyandottes but have tried to hold onto the silkies.

Anyway, interesting read and I thank you again for it!

Oh boy, this is that can of worms for surely. I have had marek's in a very small degree. Lost two VACCINATED for marek's buff orpingtons, 14 weeks old, pullet and a cockerel, the third pullet survived. I have lost a total count of three other than that, to clearly this frickin' disease. None else. I have about 50 birds, mostly adults, many that are yet young and could still contract this disease. If they do, off with their heads. I won't vaccinate, I believe in developing birds that have good immune. Just hope that different strain of marek's doesn't rear its ugly head up here, sigh....just some thoughts that must be expressed. Have a wonderful and great day, CynthiaM.

Yes, I agree, only the strong survive, my hard love case scenario, anything weak has no place in my yards.

Not sure how I missed this thread. I think I was going through some tough stuff at the time and wasn't able to think much outside myself.

Anyways, I have always bred for resistance. In Australia I got into the Barnevelders. They were notoriously susceptible to Marek's and my first breeders were vaccinated. I chose not to go that route and it meant I suffered quite a few losses the first hatching season.

But you know what, the next year not so many and the year after that even better. By the end of the third year I didn't see it. The only time I would get a resurface was if I brought in a vaccinated pullet, her first hatch would have some losses.

I was ruthless. No trying to keep them alive, any sign and they were culled. Sometimes it broke my heart because it was birds that I had high hopes for, but they were no good to me unless they had inherited resistance.

It can be done and I found birds that were resistant to Marek's were actually birds that were over all hardier as a whole.

I learned valuable things with that sensitive breed and now I don't vaccinate and don't want vaccinated chicks on the place. I want truly hardy, strong birds with immune systems that wants to step up and fight!

I think I have posted this link before but someone may find it useful.

http://forum.backyardpoultry.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7983206

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Coopslave, I have visited that forum before and read that information on mareks disease. The pictures that were in some of the posts there were fabulous!! I read it all again, and will probably read it all again and again and again -- information is powerful and getting more and more all the time. Gonna be a powerhouse of power one day Tara, as usual, you are a walking wealth of knowledge and love to hear your meandering thoughts, kind of reminds me of a pretty little stream, smiling. I listen. Love to listen. Beautiful days, CynthiaM.

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Like Tara, I raise turkeys and chickens.

It's my understanding that my turkeys innoculate my chickens for mareks.

would certainly explain why Mareks has never been a concern despite several outbreaks in the region and us constantly interacting with other flocks through swaps and shows. There is no doubt that my flocks have been exposed to mareks.

So then my question is this. How can we be selecting for Mareks resistance if our turkeys are innoculating our chickens for it? How does one selectively breed for something that one can't observe?

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Omega Blue Farms wrote:It's my understanding that my turkeys innoculate my chickens for mareks.

So how does that work? I would be interested.

You can add Houdans to the list of chickens prone to Mareks. Lost about half last year. I have no interest in innoculating. The remainder have been exposed and overcome. They should have resistant chicks. So I hatched a lot this year. Way too many. I will be eating a lot of soup this winter if you get what I mean. When they get older we will see how resistant they are. They seem to be a tender bird, getting everything that comes along. I want to improve on this (as well on many other things.)

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Mmmm, turkey flesh!

Thank-you, but I will scoop my own turkey poop. I hatched a few turk eggs this spring for fall and winter roasting purposes. I will never keep them over winter, with the exception of Jonny Anvil II the Ridley Bronze. He is too tough to eat.